My reading glasses broke today. All it took was this small, tiny little minor irritant to make me lose perspective and feel overwhelmed by everything going on in my life. How can I cope? My throat hurts, my house is a mess, my car has bird crap all over it, I feel fat, my hair feels yucky and needs to be washed….the list goes on and on. WHAT IS WRONG? There is so much in life I should feel grateful for, what the hell am I whining about? Don’t sweat the small stuff.

I think I’m depressed. And I would be the first to say to someone who said that to me, “get over it and do something about it”. Crap. I’m alive, go out and live.

Hello Ryan,
How’re you doing buddy? I found myself wanting to tell you so many things this week – wish you were here. 😦 I spent the entire week being around, eating, or wearing something orange. My sister got me clothes from Ross and Savers – your two favorite stores so that I could wear colorful shorts and an orange shirt. It looked hideous but hey- it was all about you and I’d do anything for you.

It was nice seeing so many friends from the other parts of your life. You’re so loved and I hope that love keeps on going. You made a big difference in so many lives- as you did in mine.

I’ve seen Sara like 3 days in a row, and she’s hating it because I always hug her. I know you’re laughing up there, she had to take your place in getting hugs. She has given me a deadline of May and no more hugs. That sounds like something YOU would say.

I can’t believe that you’re gone. I wake up and get on my 7th iPad (remember, you were the one who dubbed me the iPad drug dealer) to look for tweets from you, and it’s not there. What’s your weight today? Or your schedule? Are you going to clean the truck? And are you going to be at Ross’ or Savers? Will you see Ms. Unreliable? How’s R doing? What’s the latest picture you’ll harass me with that has orange in it?

I was a novice on Twitter. My first real connection with you came when you talked about your criteria for a girlfriend. “Must be Japanese, Buddhist, a teacher or a librarian, and had to drive a Toyota.” WHAT? That was too funny – I mean, how specific can you get? And how come I fit all of the criteria, never even having met you in real life? I laughed so hard getting that tweet, and said, “you must have meant me” and our friendship grew. I was with @twtrlessdoug, so I tried to fix you up with my friends. Of course, that meant having to meet you IRL first – what if you were some weirdo? I feel we bonded instantly – your infectious laughter, your intelligence, your lack of fashion sense, it made me want to hug you all the time. I know you loved the hugs as much as I did 🙂

What I do when I first see you...

I’m sorry the fix-ups didn’t pan out, and we shared more information and I became your OMGWTF friend. There wasn’t a nasty comment we could share between us that would hurt the other person, nor anything the other could do as a surprise. This was your typical expression with me:

OMGWTF??

We both learned of our love for hiking and the idea of the #twikes were born. We did a lot of twikes together – even Sara (@knyghtingale) came to one, and only one. We had a deal – I picked the date and you picked the venue. And we always looked forward to the food get-together after-twike.

Pali Puka Hike

Food was a big part of it – just one short week ago, we sat down and had such a fun lunch that I told YOU I was going to pay for. Well, you grabbed the bill from my hand and we laughed so hard when I was trying to bite you….ha ha. I won!

The Bite

And when we met that night at Kincaid’s over more food, there was only lots of love and laughter amongst us. Good times, good friends, and more hugs.

I miss you. I miss you and your nasty comments to me. A big HUG to you. And stop giving me that annoyed look….